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Tommy Davis (Scientology)

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For other people named Thomas Davis, see Thomas Davis (disambiguation).
Thomas W. Davis
Born (1972-08-18) August 18, 1972 (age 51)[1][2][3]
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Head of Celebrity Centre International, Los Angeles, California[4][5][6][7]
Known forSpokesman for Church of Scientology[8]
Parent(s)Anne Archer[9] and William Davis[1]

Thomas W. "Tommy" Davis (born August 18, 1972)[1][2][3] is the head of the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles, California.[4][5]

Work for Church of Scientology

Celebrity Centre

Davis works for the Sea Org as a non-uniformed member.[2] According to a Church of Scientology press release, in 2001 Davis was the Celebrity Centre's Vice President.[10] He is the head of the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles, California.[4][5][6][7]

On June 13, 2003, Davis went with actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise and Kurt Weiland, director of external affairs for Scientology's Office of Special Affairs and Scientology vice president of communications,[5][7] to meet with then-United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.[5][6][7] In the half-hour long private meeting, they raised concerns with Armitage about the treatment of Scientologists in Germany and other countries.[5][6]

Davis is a senior-level Scientologist,[5][11] spokesman for the Church of Scientology,[8] and a member of the Church of Scientology's Sea Organization or "Sea Org".[2][12] He is a member of the International Association of Scientologists,[13] and was listed as a Patron of the organization in 2006 in their publication Impact Magazine.[14]

Representative to the media

Davis accompanied Rolling Stone writer Janet Reitman along with former head of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs Mike Rinder on a tour of the Gold Base in Hemet, California in 2005.[2]

In 2007, Davis gained international attention from events surrounding the making of a documentary about Scientology entitled "Scientology and Me", screened as an installment of the BBC public affairs series Panorama.[15] The Panorama reporter, John Sweeney, reported that he met with Davis early on and could not reach agreement with him on whether individuals attacking Scientology should be interviewed for the film, and whether the program should refer to Scientology as a "cult".[11] As the BBC documentary was filmed, Scientologists made a parallel documentary, a camera crew shadowing Sweeney and chronicling his work.[15][16][17]

While Sweeney was visiting the Scientology exhibition "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death", Davis accused him of being biased and of having been too easy on one of his interviewees.[15][17] Sweeney lost his temper.[15][17] The Church of Scientology released the resulting footage, showing Sweeney beside himself with rage, on YouTube, and the counter-documentary attacking Sweeney's methods was posted to UK politicians and media organizations.[15][17] Panorama responded by posting its own YouTube clip, showing Davis losing his temper and abruptly ending an interview when Sweeney used the words "sinister cult".[15] The BBC subsequently disciplined Sweeney for his outburst, but stated it was happy that on the whole, Sweeney had performed his work in a fair and proper manner.[15][17]

In a May 8, 2008 appearance on CNN, Davis was asked by CNN's John Roberts if "... the basic tenet of the Church of Scientology is to rid the body of space-alien parasites, to clear oneself"; Davis responded: "Well, John, does that sound silly to you? I mean it’s unrecognizable to me."[18] Tony Ortega of The Village Voice commented on Davis's answer, saying: "It’s also a grand tradition, among Scientology spokespeople, to act bewildered when they’re facing a camera and they’re asked about Xenu and space-alien thetans. Tommy Davis is just doing what other mouthpieces have said in the past."[19]

Personal life

Davis is the son of William Davis and film actress and Scientologist Anne Archer.[1][9] He has a half-brother, Jeffrey Tucker Jastrow.[1] Davis is a friend of actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise,[20] and a former friend of actor Jason Beghe, who left the church in 2007.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Blake Bandy (Fenton Kritzer Entertainment). "Anne Archer - Biography". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e Reitman, Janet (February 23, 2006). "Inside Scientology". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
  3. ^ a b "Anne Archer". NNDB. Soylent Communications. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  4. ^ a b c Shaw, William (2008-02-17). "The science of celebrity". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 26.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Morton, Andrew (2008). Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 243, 317. ISBN 0312359861.
  6. ^ a b c d Derakhshani, Tirdad (2006-08-26). "Cruise camp: sorry about Shields". The Philadephia Inquirer.
  7. ^ a b c d Staff (2006-08-25). "Tom 'Incensed' Sumner's Wife". New York Post. N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc. p. 14.
  8. ^ a b Ortega, Tony (2008-05-14). "Jason Beghe to Scientology Mouthpiece Tommy Davis: 'You're Losing Your Soul'". Runnin' Scared. The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  9. ^ a b Shaw, William (2001-02-06). "Multimillonarios, Famosos Y Cienciologos: Estrellas de la música y el cine lideran la tarea proselitista de la iglesia de L. Ron Hubbard". El Mundo. www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  10. ^ Church of Scientology (2001-08-09). "Celebration Gives Clue Why Young Hollywood Loves Scientology - 'Joy of Creating' Inspires Artistic Creations at Star-Studded Event". Press release. PR Newswire.
  11. ^ a b "Scientology and Me: transcript". Scientology and Me. BBC News. 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  12. ^ Friedman, Roger (2006-03-02). "Cruise, Travolta: Rolling Stone Gathers Moss". Celebrity Gossip. FOX News. Retrieved 2008-01-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ International Association of Scientologists (2004, Issue 109). "Founding Patrons". Impact Magazine. Church of Scientology. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ International Association of Scientologists (2006, Issue 114). "Patrons". Impact Magazine. Church of Scientology. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "The BBC man, the Scientologist - and the YouTube rant". The Observer. May 13, 2007. Retrieved 2006-07-16. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Nine denies church motive". The Australian. May 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  17. ^ a b c d e "BBC man rebuked over Scientology show". Digital Spy. May 14, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  18. ^ Roberts, John (May 8, 2008). "Scientologists decry threats: CNN's John Roberts talks to a Scientology spokesman who says an anonymous group is terrorizing the church". CNN. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  19. ^ Ortega, Tony (May 8, 2008). "Scientology Spokesman Gives Non-Answers on CNN". Runnin' Scared. The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  20. ^ "Travolta spearheads Scientologists' attack on BBC". Daily Mail. May 15, 2007. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
  21. ^ Ortega, Tony (September 16, 2008). "Jason Beghe Is Still Denouncing Scientology -- This Time in Germany". Runnin' Scared. Village Voice. Retrieved 2006-07-16.

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